Hello ladies and gentlemen, Muldoon here with this week's lovely lineup of solid shorts from badass filmmakers from all across the globe. I certainly hope you're in the mood for a handful of cartoons, slightly twisted cartoons to be exact. We've got a few animated beauties, as well as some tales of terror! I find each short below charming, each in their own unique way, so hopefully you do as well. SATURDAY SHORTS is a pretty simple concept, to showcase the work of artists of all walks of life for movie lovers. If you're a filmmaker or just a person who enjoys visual vacations, this entire column (and everyone before it) is for you. If you see a film below that you like - then share it, share your thoughts in the Talkbacks, and Tweet the thing. I'm not saying "Tweet this article," so much as "support the filmmaker by spreading their film to as many folks as you see fit." Each film that's ever played here was and is the direct result of a person with an imagination and a need to create. This column doesn't run on the ideas filmmakers keep to themselves, but on the ones they push into existence and care to share with the world. Submissions ebb and flow, with significant bumps around pretty much every holiday (go figure), but each time I open my AICN email - I truly have no idea what I'm in for. Occasionally I'll hear from filmmakers who have had shorts here in the past, which is actually pretty cool - getting to know the works of strangers over the course of a few years, but then there are also the random surprises. Whatever the case, I'm just glad they keep rolling in and I keep getting the opportunity to share them with you fine folks. So let's get this show on the road and start watching some solid shorts, eh?
DR. GORDZ
TRT: 5:36
Nick Setteducato, one hell of a Phish fan, is back with another fun project! You might have seen his short 2016: A SPACE ODDITY here a few months back. This time Nick's tapping into the vibe of DR. KATZ with a decent amount of fun and wiggly characters. The video features an answering machine message Phish drummer Jon Fishman left on his manager's machine. I'll admit, I've only heard a small handful of Phish songs in my lifetime, but still found this pretty clever. It's silly and looks back to so many things I can appreciate. Check out more of Nick's work on his Lucy Productions Facebook Page!
"Dr. Gordz" Episode 1: Devotion to a Dream from Nicholas Setteducato on Vimeo.
GLEEP-GLORP & LASERTAG
TRT: 2:15
To keep this animation train chuggin, next up is a short from Justin Michael. Six months ago I had the privilege of screening Justin's MONSTER ISLAND, so it's safe to assume I'm a fan and am glad to have him back this week with his latest. "Gleep-Glorp and Lasertag are a pair of alien siblings with a mystery to solve!" I love the look of the piece, using miniatures and real items with real textures and incorporating the animated characters into that world. Check out Justin's site for all things Justin, including info on his live comedy, award winning cartoons, podcasts, and more!
Gleep-Glorp & Lasertag from Justin Michael on Vimeo.
MINDGAME
TRT: 26:04
Jamie Neese has our next short, something tonally and visually 180 degrees away from the short above. "Mindgame is about the mystery that develops when a conman uses his wife's psychic abilities to blackmail wealthy strangers with their futures." It's a pretty interesting premise that dips into the world of abuse via psychic powers and the manipulation of a loved one. There's quite a bit of film packed into MINDGAME's 26 minute runtime, which leaves me wanting to see much, much more from Neese. Check out Jamie's website for more information on the filmmaker and upcoming projects!
QUAD DIAMOND
TRT: 3:03
I'm pretty much always interested in the work of our next filmmaker. Olivier Bonenfant has a fun (and super short) short that he created roughly four years ago, but only recently has opened it up online. There's not much to it in terms of story, as it's quite a spectacle piece. I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll simply say "it's impressive and imaginative in all the right ways." "Somewhere, there's a quadruple diamond ski trail. This really must be for experts, unless it's something truly different." Head over to Oliver's Vimeo Page to see more of his work!
Quad diamond from Olivier Bonenfant on Vimeo.
FROM BELOW
TRT: 1:35
Ben Sottak has our next short, a really short short. "A snack-sized horror short about the dire consequences of investigating strange noises in the attic." FROM BELOW hits all the beats you'd expect, and delivers a KO at roughly 90 seconds. It's running time is exactly on point, though if Ben were to expand upon the ideas, spooks, and characters involved - I'd happily watch that as well. This short is a great way to spend a minute and a half if you're at all a fan of horror. Check out Ben's website for more of his work.
From Below from ben sottak on Vimeo.
KILLER QUEEN
TRT: 3:15
Tony Savero is here to wrap us out for the week, and he brings with him a faux trailer in the vein of GRINDHOUSE. It's a tale of revenge, a tale of terror, a tale of a killer Drag Queen! "A Horror/Comedy about a demonic Drag Queen who comes back from the dead to seek revenge on the intolerant Rednecks that sent her to an early grave.... and any other bigots that may her path." It's very much "a bit extreme," but also... that's the point. It's an exploitation flick which delivers in the form of simply being a trailer. I'd be curious to see the film as a feature, but am just as happy seeing it in this form. Head on over to Tony's site for more shorts!
BAM! That's it for this week, ladies and gents. Hopefully you caught something here that will stick with you, or perhaps just made you happy for a moment or two. There's a hell of a lot of talent in the shorts above, as well as the links below. I hope to see you fine folks a week from now with another handful of short films from across the globe. Have a great week doing whatever it is you're going to do.
SATURDAY SHORTS 2012
SATURDAY SHORTS 2013
SATURDAY SHORTS 2014
SATURDAY SHORTS 2015
Hank & Honey: A Holiday Horror; Black Christmas; Grammy; Pick Ups (1/2/16)
Lilitu; Auld Lang Syne; Chronoshred; Ash Vs. Lobo Vs. The DC Undead (1/9/16)
Believe; The Dragon's Blade; Native Immigration; The Problem With Friends (1/23/16)
Harbinger; Hyperthermia; The Chickening; Head (1/30/16)
Erebus; Boldly Gone; Cupcakes; City In Crisis; Vandalaze "Great Big Things" (2/6/16)
Blurry; American Virgin; Azarkant; The Homing Bird; Sex, Lies, And Terminators (2/13/16)
Connected; Terry And Brenda; Fuck Buddies; Audrey; BigHead Walking Dead Parody (2/20/16)
Absence; The Adept; MAT ZO - "Sinful;" Dreamco; Hoot (3/12/16)
Pop Music; Tumble Dry Low; Rooms; Promise; Darth Maul: Apprentice (3/19/16)
Status Update; Kafka's Little Fable; Ghoster; I Got Your Nose; Creature Feature (4/2/16)
Steve; The Good Survivor; Field of Screams; Mirrored; Jack Edwards - "Falling In Love" (4/16/16)
Rest Stop; The Technician; Romp; Who's There?; If Joke & Harley Quinn Were A Normal Couple (4/23/16)
Trial; Star Struck; Color TV, No Vacancy; Notifications On; One Sunny Day (5/14/16)
You Are Not Alone; Giraffe Soup; Brother; Bury Tomorrow - "Last Light"; Rain (5/21/16)
The Group; The Trap; The Echo of Small Things; Alison Blaire - "The Sight of Sound"; James (5/28/16)
Blinking Lights; Dédalo; Invisible; Identity Crisis (6/25/16)
Schackled; Miss Nobody; I Hate Mondays; Jefferson; Mary's Passion (7/2/16)
Swap; Ghostbusters: All Manned Up Edition; The Invisible Man; Sleep Tight; Defining Fay (7/10/16)
Carl; Flat Tire; Loree's Crazy 'Bout Kittens; Chum Zone II: Shark Fin Soup; Archetype (7/16/16)
The Chaplain; Bump CLassique; The Listener; Timelike; Fantasy Hospital Episode 4 (7/23/16)
Trial Run; Thick Air; First Date From Hell; Rise; God, Me And The Salty Peanuts; Graves (7/30/16)
Deathly; The Hope You Promised Love; Surrender; Crumb; Deep 6 (8/6/16)
Broadhurst "Take Me Down;" Prungen; The Paris Syndrome; Foxed!; Ecstacy Boulevard (8/14/16)
Heartburns' a Killer; Draft Eight; Versus; Chainsaw; Injustice For All (8/20/16)
Sebastian; Where You Are; Xenos; The Line; Sand Boys (8/27/16)
Long-Term Parking; House Of Straw; You Won't Regret That Tattoo; Invasion Day; Forever (9/17/16)
Best Friends; Nae Parasan; My First Day; Slaps; Merry Gentlemen (10/1/16)
Otherhalf; Red Curtains; The Great Break-Up Contest; Pioneer; Seven Rules (10/8/16)
Frank And The Zombie Girl; Spooky Club; o negative; Zelos; The Moonlight Man; Sweet 16 (10/29/16)
Red; Larry Gone Demon; Visitors Parking; Grave Dangers; Intruder (11/6/16)
Chomper; Hoshino; Boniato; On Sunday; Darkness of Night (11/12/16)
Where The Shadows Fall; The Girlfriend; Friendlies; The First Men; Toc Toc (11/19/16)
Pizza Delivery; Forever's Gonna Start Tonight; Epoch; Points Of Origin; Knack! (1/7/17)
Capes; Out Of The Family; Noodles; The Great Orecto; Orphans Of Ash Concept Trailer (1/14/17)
If you have a short and think it belongs here or are on the fence about whether to send it in, please do send it in - I'd love to see what you've put together. I've already seen hundreds of fresh new filmmakers' shorts and like any good addict, I need more!
Shoot me an email at "Mike@aintitcool.com"
In the subject line include:
“SHORTS” + “Your film’s name” + “The film’s genre”
Then, in the body of the email, please include a synopsis of the film and any contact information you might think I need or would want published. The more info you send my way, the more info there is to put with your short.
Please don’t feel the need to submit multiple times.
Remember, the filmmakers might still be in the audience, so feel free to share your thoughts in Talkbacks below. (JUST DON'T BE AN ASSHOLE). I picked them, so you know I think highly of all of these, but how about you fine folks? How'd you like 'em?
BY THE WAY: If you've had a short featured here, that means that I personally am a fan of your work, so feel free to shoot me any kind of news on new projects/films/whatever. I can't say I'll be able to help or in what capacity, but I'm interested in your work and am always down to see more! (Keep making cool stuff, everyone!)
- Mike McCutchen
"Muldoon"
Mike@aintitcool.com
